, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 8th, 2012. >> good evening, i'll bill weir. well, today in arizona, a 77-year-old man took his first free breath in 38 years. of course, people leave prison every day in this country, but what makes this moment extraordinary are the twists and turns that preceded it. the double homicide, the exwife's accusations, the desperate decades spent trying to prove innocence. abc's dan harris has been following this story for years, and brings us the very latest in this "nightline" investigates. >> reporter: you are looking at bill macumber's first breaths of freedom, after serving 38 years for a double murder he says he did not commit. >> big day, family day. >> reporter: this scene, the culmination of an astonishingly nasty fight between macumber and two powerful women. his ex-wife and also the governor of arizona. late today, at his first news conference, macumber cried when talking about the lawyers who fought to get him out. >> excuse me, excuse the emotion, but -- i'm here because of all these people. so -- i woul